How much do you pay for overnight dog sitter to stay at your house?

[ErlingHaalandsManBun]

Just interested for those who use overnight pet sitters, who come to your house to pet sit while you go away.

How much do you get charged?

Have just had a quote and I am not sure if this is expensive or the going rate or whether I should keep looking.

Obviously, the main thing is our dogs are well cared for but I don't want to pay silly prices if what we have been quoted is a lot.

For reference, we are in Wales and I have just been quoted £75 per night, £10 extra for a second dog. So we have two dogs so it will be £85 per night.

Good or high?

She should still have liability insurance - she’s taking a massive risk without it.

Not if she's not running a business!

Depends - is she getting paid? Declaring her income? If yes, she needs insurance.

It’s hardly expensive - mine is £12 a month.

Insurance for what? I don’t expect a professional service just the same as a friend looking after my pets.

Public liability insurance is vital for anyone being paid to do pet care (different if your friend is just doing a favour as your own insurance would cover it).

If your dog is in the care of this person and escapes and causes an accident, or bites someone (or worse) - you could be liable for the entire bill. Your pet insurance won't cover you as you're paying for care, and if she's not insured, the injured partie(s) will come after you as the owner.

I have the liability insurance for the dog, that should cover it. Since it’s an informal arrangement.

Are you paying for this arrangement? If so, the person you're paying needs to be insured. Your own insurance is unlikely to cover your dog being in their care.

The dog insurance will cover injury to the dog or third party if it's an informal arrangement & not a professional dog sitter/walker

And this is not a professional pet sitter, just someone who likes pets etc. There are risks I can take regarding the dog escaping etc.

Fair enough, as long as you’re happy to accept the risks involved.

Agree so many people on MN want to pay so little for cleaners etc. it's a job. They need to earn a living. That works out way less than minimum wage

Pet sitter here (dogs and cats) I care for pets in the owners homes, not my own,
£50 is my standard fee... that's 24 hour care/walks/feeding and if the owners are away a few days includes putting the bins out/house plants etc.
I'm canine first aid certified and have Protectivity insurance and am DBS checked. I wouldn't step in anyones house without all three.
It's 'only' a part time job for me, but I take it seriously because I'm being trusted with peoples' beloved animals.
£50 over 24 hours is £2 an hour.... hardly too much to ask is it?!

£35 a night for 2 small dogs

Try Trustedhousesitters.com. Annual fee of around £150 and the actual sitting is free. I’ve used them a couple times, friends have used them multiple times all good experiences.

Absolutely - I think it’s bonkers that people are basically handing over their most beloved possessions for less than £2 an hour. As for people who aren’t insured - it boggles the mind, honestly - it’s not like insurance costs a lot of money!

I did a pet-sit this past weekend - £180 for two small dogs for three nights. I’m sure MN will tell me it’s a rip off and I should be ashamed but it’s my job and if I’m going to be away from my home, my husband and my own animals, I want to be paid fairly for it.

£50 multiple animals

Not only would I not hand the care of my dog over to someone who wasn’t insured and able to take care of him in an emergency, I also wouldn’t get a kick out of underpaying for a service. If I can’t afford it, I’ll have to sit that one out.

Well, exactly. My own dog comes away with us precisely because we can’t afford a pet sitter for him 😂

We use trusted Troused Housesitters so nothing but the cost to Trusted Housesitters.